Four people have died off the coast of northern France after attempting to cross the English Channel, local authorities have said.
Two men and two women died after they "tried to board a water taxi" and "the currents, which can be dangerous here, swept them away", the Pas-de-Calais prefecture said at a news conference.
The death toll was still "provisional", the prefect François-Xavier Lauch said.
One person was treated for hypothermia and received non-life-threatening injuries, and 37 others were taken to the hospital, he added.
French media is reporting that rescue efforts were still under way on Thursday morning after the incident off the coast of Boulogne, between the beaches of Équihen and Écault, south of Calais.
